Case Number 15409

AN AMERICAN CAROL

The Charge

Laugh like your country depends on it.

Opening Statement

A month before the 2008 Presidential Election, the theaters were lightly
dusted with political documentaries and feature films. While most were generally
predictable in their mode of attack, An American Carol was something of
an anomaly -- it was a movie made for conservatives. Filled with cameos by
respectable character actors, and helmed by Airplane director David
Zucker, An American Carol tries to be a comedy for Republicans. Note the
word tries.

Facts of the Case

Michael Malone (Kevin Farley) has made a reputation for himself as the
premiere left-winged documentary filmmaker in Hollywood. Of course, that doesn't
really amount to much. What Malone really wants is to make a feature film. Lucky
for him, a group of bumbling terrorists show up just days before Malone's big
Fourth of July protest and offer him the money to make the movie of a
lifetime.

Before Malone can really get under way, however, he's visited by the ghost
of President John F. Kennedy, who informs Malone that he'll be visited by three
spirits who will teach him what it means to be American. Thus, in an elaborate
parody of Dickens' A Christmas Carol, Malone is visited by General George
S. Patton (Kelsey Grammer, Fraiser), President George Washington (Jon
Voight, Transformers), and the Angel of Death (country music's Trace
Adkins).

The Evidence

Conservative satire is pretty sparse in the film industry. There are a few
standout examples, but for the most part the political leanings of Hollywood
have been undeniably one-sided. An American Carol tries to thwart all of
that in one fail swoop by taking Sean Hannity's talking points and pouring them
into the mold of David Zucker's previous parody flicks. It's a novel idea, but
one that's ultimately at odds with itself. You could say the film is a lot like
President Bush's attempts to reform Social Security during his second term in
office: he raised awareness, but accomplished nothing.

An American Carol takes the low road in conservative satire,
embracing the oft chided "us versus them" mentality that
hyperbolically assumes everyone who disagrees is a scum-sucking terrorist.
Zucker, along with screenwriters Myrna Sokoloff and Lewis Friedman, take plenty
of shots at elitist Hollywood celebrities, left-winged protesters, academic
indoctrination, and documentary filmmakers all with varying degrees of success.
Sadly, for every intelligent or funny moment in the film (like the Good
Night, and Good Luck spoof "That McCarthy Sure Was Bad") there are
five "smack a blind girl in the face" jokes. But Zucker tries to
balance out the comedy with sobering messages about the American military,
religion, and 9/11 which feel more out of place than John Kerry at a Burger
King. The result is a mash up of emotions, messages, and themes that are all at
odds with each other. It takes a nuanced and skilled hand to create a satire
that's funny and powerful, and no one here has one.

The thing of it is, there is plenty of room for both liberal and
conservative films in Hollywood. And there have been a few good conservative
comedies over the years (Thank You For Smoking and the films of Whit
Stillman come to mind). An American Carol may appeal to some folks, but
people looking for respectable right-leaning humor shouldn't settle for such a
mediocre affair.

Not helping matters is Zucker's direction, which shifts tones and styles so
often it's jarring. For whatever reason, film will dip in to choppy
post-production slow-motion, which looks absolutely ridiculous. Sometimes the
story will awkwardly jump back to Leslie Nielson, who is narrating the tale from
a BBQ. Throughout the movie, General Patton shows up more than really makes
sense to usher in a new skit. If this is like A Christmas Carol, why is
the first ghost getting all the screen time? According to Zucker's commentary
track, they were re-writing jokes and scenes while they were filming, which may
explain the film's uneven tone and hit-or-miss humor.

The film's DVD transfer doesn't benefit from the meager budget either. The
video is decent, but the colors come off as flat and muddy. A lot of the
post-production work looks too fake on the transfer as well, including the
numerous green screen and blurry slow-mo sequences. The sound is a little
better, coming in both 5.1 surround and stereo tracks. The music and dialogue
are balanced nicely, but there are occasions where someone's line is just too
fast or quiet to really be understood the first go-round. For example, when
Malone is giving his speech to the chanting mobs outside of a university,
someone in the crowd yells something that prompts everyone to storm Malone and
crush him under foot. I couldn't understand what the guy said, but it clearly
meant a lot to all those extras in the crowd.

Speaking of which, the extras on the disc are pretty sparse. There are about
15 minutes of deleted scenes, alternate takes, and outtakes, the majority of
which aren't worth watching. One interesting deleted scene was the extended
song-and-dance number from the professors in the lecture hall; the weak and
repetitive songwriting made me glad much of it was cut (Professors are stuck in
the past, we get it!). Zucker, Farley, and Friedman also provide a commentary
track filled with insights on their manic shooting process, and the various
issues they had on the set. There's too much "we know this joke
stinks" self-deprecation to make it enjoyable the whole way through, and
there are plenty of awkward gaps in the commentary where the movie's audio never
returns. I could be wrong, but the commentary makes it sound as if no one was
really happy with the way this thing turned out. There's also a bunch of
trailers and a weird "Special Thanks" page.

Closing Statement

An American Carol was made for a very small niche in American society:
conservatives who really like Scary Movie 4. That's a select few, I know.
I tried to give this movie a chance. Every time I started to laugh at something,
the film's tone shifts, a character farts, Kevin Farley makes a "yeah
right" face, and I just sigh. This isn't Airplane -- not even
close.

Conservatives shouldn't settle for this kind of humor. In fact, liberals
will probably enjoy laughing at this movie more than conservatives will
laugh with it.

The Verdict

Guilty of making Russell Kirk and William F. Buckley Jr. roll in their
graves.